Worthless Trust
by breathequine
Summary: Who can you trust? Those that seem the most trustworthy are worthless. A seventeen year old girl finds that out when a man she believes is kind and trustworthy only desires her for himself and takes her away from those she loves most...against her will.
1. Chapter 1

(1)

 _Only four hundred dollars to go and I can buy him._ Liz Roberts thought to herself as she finished counting the money spread across her desk for the third time. She sighed. It'd been hard to make one hundred dollars and she could imagine how hard it would be to make four hundred in order to buy Gator, the chestnut gelding she'd fallen in love with at Clearwater Stables. He cost one thousand dollars and so far Liz had saved up six hundred.

 _What about feed, water, farrier, and vet bills?_

Liz sighed. Owning a horse would cost a lot of money. She knew her dad wouldn't buy it for her; he didn't like horses as much as she did but at least was allowing her to try and buy one.

Liz scooped the money together and put it back in the jar. She stood up and went into the kitchen. The table was cluttered with a big box and tools scattered all over it. Liz's father was a handyman and had started a business after they'd moved to Driftwood, Illinois. He bought a house that happened to have a three acre pasture and a two stall barn as well.

Liz felt as if her dream of owning a horse was coming true! She was also working at Clearwater Stables in exchange for a riding lesson once a week to refresh her riding skills.

She looked at the time on the kitchen stove. 3:37 P.M. It took her fifteen minutes to bike to the stables so she rushed to get ready in order to be there by four. She hopped on the bike she bought at a garage sale and pedaled down the street.

Liz smiled with she saw the barn roof of Clearwater Stables come into view. She hiked up the uphill driveway and soon was parking her bike against the barn. She walked in and


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER ONE**

Rocky Wilder turned off the water faucet and carefully lifted the bucket full of water off the ground. It was heavy and was a task for her to keep it from sloshing onto her clothes. She walked over to where her black horse stood tied, waiting to be turned out into the pasture. They had just returned from a long ride and the summer heat had them both covered in sweat by the time they got back. Rocky set the bucket down near Swift and the mare immediately dropped her head and started drinking.

Rocky wiped the sweat off her forehead. She loved riding; it was her passion. She enjoyed the long, quiet rides through the woods by herself. It relieved a lot of the stress she had lately from her mom's upcoming wedding. Rocky hated the man she was going to marry, Jonathan Peterson. _She's just marrying him for the money._ Jonathan was indeed rich. He was a very successful lawyer with the biggest firm in New York City. All he cared about was his business and her mother. He hardly paid any attention to Rocky and whenever her mom wasn't around, he spat mean words at her.

 _But who cares? If that's what she wants, fine. I'm turning eighteen in two months anyways, I'll be out of here then._ Rocky told herself as she untied Swift and led her back to the pasture.

Swift took off at a canter and threw a couple bucks. Rocky shook her head. Even after a long ride, Swift was still spunky and active.

Rocky's phone rang and she took it out of her pocket, only to see her mom's number on the screen. Rocky sighed and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Raquel! Where the hell are you? We have to leave in an hour and you're not even home yet. Don't tell me you went riding!" Rocky's mom, Joanne shouted into the phone.

Rocky rolled her eyes. "Well yea."

"Are you kidding me? We have to go to church in an hour and you're going to go smelling like crap." Joanne yelled. "Jonathan is picking us up in less than an hour, you better be here!"

"Yea, yea, yea, I'm leaving right now. I'll be there." Rocky answered. "Yea, okay mom." She quickly hung up after that and rolled her eyes again. She couldn't stand her mom lately, she drove her insane. Rocky quickly put her tack away and then drove home.

* * *

"And that concludes our service for today. We hope you all have a blessed and safe week. Amen." The pastor ended his sermon and everyone stood up to greet each other.

Rocky headed straight to the bathroom, hoping to avoid her mom as much as possible. Rocky had managed to take a shower and change before they had to leave, and her mom put more stress on her shoulders about it. Rocky went into a stall, locked the door, and took a deep breath. _Just two more months._ She took a few more deep breaths before feeling confident enough to leave.

When she came out of the bathroom, she was happy to see her mom occupied with other people.

"Hey there, kiddo."

Rocky turned to see Ray Wallace standing there. "Hi." She said, smiling and shaking his hand. Ray had been coming to church for a few weeks.

"How're you doing?" He asked, looking at her.

Rocky figured it was best to keep her feelings to herself. No sense in spilling all her troubles on someone she didn't know that well. "I'm good, thanks. You?"

"Great." Ray smiled, staring into her dark blue eyes for a few seconds. He looked away. "So, uh, your mom tells me you're really into horses?"

Rocky nodded. "Yes, I love it! I have my own horse I ride several times a week, it's great."

"Well that's good. Where do you ride?"

"I board at a barn, not too far from here. It's called Pine River Stables, they have some amazing trails near the barn I ride on."

"That's cool. My, uh, cousin used to have a little pony growin' up and we'd ride that sometimes." Ray said. "When do you ride? It's been pretty hot lately, I imagine late in the day?"

Rocky paused for a minute. Why did he care when she rode? She didn't think anymore about it and answered, "Yes, I ride in the late evenings when it's cooler. Usually I ride every day if I can."

"Well that's good, keeps you busy." Ray winked at her and then greeted another person.


End file.
